Handling a Fox
by SephStones
Summary: Summoner Maddox is in charge of "reforming" the Nine Tailed Fox. He's always been considered a little cold towards women, some questioning if he even was attracted to women. It's for this very reason he's put in charge of Ahri, her escapade of seductions and cheating leaving few others who can truly handle her... but can Maddox truly? P.S. If you recognize the picture message me


Chapter 1

 **A/N:** If you're here because you saw I posted something only to find it wasn't An Ionian's Curiosity: I'm sorry. I just don't have the heart to continue that story. I wanted to go back and change so many things, including the pairing, that it just wasn't worth it. To anyone who's here having randomly found this story: Hey there, hope you enjoy your stay.

Without further ado, let the story begin!

* * *

 _Name: Ahri, the Nine Tailed Fox_

 _Age: 23_

 _Handler Name: Maddox Stones - Summoner First Gold Tier_

 _Reason(s) for Referral:_

 _\- Numerous reports of sexual harassment against both champions and employees_

 _\- Reports of theft of essence and energy. Summoners report losing control of magic after prolonged times of close proximity to patient_

 _\- Attempted seduction of resource officer; would have succeeded if not stopped_

* * *

The list of problems continued down the scroll, listing cases of both attempted and successful seductions of members of the League. The man reading the scroll sighed, shaking his head lightly at the messenger who'd handed the parchment to him.

"You're joking right?" He knew very well why he had been assigned to the case. Most of the people at the League assumed him either gay, asexual or both. Neither was true, he just had never bothered making cat calls at the female champions.

The messenger shook his head quickly before leaving the small office room. There was a simple desk in one corner, television on the opposite wall with a recliner in the center of the room. The furniture barely fit, leaving little room to actually walk anywhere; not that it actually mattered, Maddox rarely had anyone visit his office.

The position of Handler was something both revered and dreaded by summoners. Depending on which champion had misbehaved a different Handler could either have someone like Riven - surprisingly carefree and enjoyable to be around, or Elise - someone you had to watch constantly to make sure she wouldn't try to kill you.

Maddox - or Em as the few people close to the man called him - knew he would be earning jealous glares from the members of Ahri's fanclub. He thought about this for a moment before dropping the scroll heavily on the desk in front of him. At the bottom was a date, three days from then, which was when he was to begin.

He needed to prepare.

* * *

Tuesday - Two Days before Assignment

* * *

The cramped office of Maddox Stones had lost all sense of organization. The once neat desk was littered with papers - new articles, interviews, press conference reports, even recollections of conversations various people had had with the Nine Tailed Fox.

Whenever Maddox was assigned a patient (as he preferred to call them) he would spend whatever time he had available researching every possible detail of their life.

Ahri was proving problematic however. Despite being an open book in the eyes of media what she had rehearsed over and over didn't quite make sense. Maddox started re-reading the list of those who Ahri admitted to stealing essence from - and thusly killing because of the act. Over the past four years she had made her way through the entire country, seducing and stripping three-hundred and twenty five poor men from their lives.

There was no discrimination against race, age, profession or class. She had taken peasants, merchants, even a few unlucky noblemen. One of the listings had been a Master tier Summoner - someone filled with Essence to the point of extreme power.

Despite all of the lives taken the fox had grown no more noticeably human than the first day she turned from pure fox to her fox-human hybrid.

Sighing with temporary defeat Maddox roughly shuffled the papers into a stack, opening a drawer of the desk and shoving them inside. If he couldn't learn any more about Ahri's past, he needed to find out how she interacted with those she considered friends.

* * *

Wednesday - Day before Assignment

* * *

Maddox was in a panic. He had spent the entire previous day searching about for someone Ahri would call her friend, and yet he came up empty handed. Despite her open nature and flirtatious attitude none of the champions he had questioned said they had spoke to the woman more than a few times. Glancing down at his list he rushed through the halls of the Champion quarters, making his way to the last of those he would question.

 **Syndra - The Dark Sovereign**

The nameplate was dark purple with white lettering - the only object breaking the otherwise blankness of the door. Knocking three times Maddox stepped back, already fearful of what lay in wait for him.

There were few champions the Summoner feared. Many weren't innately hostile towards him - even the Noxians and Voidlings were appreciative of the time he put into helping them. The two exceptions to his otherwise friendly relationships with champions were Ahri, his own upcoming patient, and Syndra. The Sovereign was not one to toy or joke with - something that did not bode well with Maddox. Making jokes was the first thing the man turned to if all else failed. It was hard to kill someone while laughing.

The door flew open, smashing into the wall inside the room with a resounding crash. A voice called from the inside, words inviting Maddox inside - though the tone was anything but welcoming.

Maddox took a few tentative steps into the room, glancing around as he did so. He was surprised to find a well furnished room, dimmed lights giving an almost welcoming glow. He found Syndra floating inches off the floor at the far side of the room, glaring profusely at him.

"What is it Summoner." She was clearly not amused by the visit.

"Hello Madam Syndra, I am sorry to interrupt you," Maddox took every formality, bowing deeply before smiling at the woman, "I was just here to inquire about your relationship with the Nine Tailed Fox. Would the two of you happen to be friends?" He expected a quick no and was prepared to leave, however the response was exactly the opposite of his expectation.

"Oh that girl! Yes she's my friend why do you ask?" Syndra had instantly relaxed, apparently satisfied she wasn't in trouble with the League or would be otherwise inconvenienced.

"I've been, ehm, assigned to be her Handler." Syndra frowned deeply at the remark. All champions knew what a Handler was for - it meant you had done something either bad enough to warrant constant supervision; or you were continuing to repeat the same transgression.

"Has her Essence Theft finally caught up to her?" Maddox was surprised when he saw Syndra didn't seem angered by the idea, her face instead adorned with an exhausted look.

"That is indeed the case." Maddox kept his response short, not wanting to give any chance for himself to anger the Sovereign.

"I will tell you anything you need to know."

* * *

Maddox had gotten far more information about Ahri than he expected. Syndra admitted to knowing fully well that Ahri could steal essence without killing someone in the process.

What he also learned, however, was that she needed a supply of essence to simply keep her form. It wasn't a large amount, she could easily snag a small amount of essence from those she passed and she would find no problems.

This brought a number of questions to Maddox's mind.

Why would she need the essence simply to maintain her form, and more importantly what happened to the essence she didn't use?

Did she have to work to steal essence from others or did she simply absorb that which exuded from people naturally?

Did Ahri have to be in contact with people to steal essence and, if so, to what extent?

More questions raced through Maddox's mind as he made his way towards his own quarters. He'd left the champion section five minutes prior after a nearly hour session of talking with Syndra.

He knew he needed a plan for the next day. If he started his assignment without a game plan he knew he'd succumb to the fox. The rules of the relationship between Handler and patient meant that Maddox couldn't leave Ahri alone for more than half an hour at a time - and that included at night. He was about to spend an unknown amount of time with the woman many called perfect.

* * *

Thursday - Day One

* * *

Maddox had awoken at exactly seven in the morning. He quickly showered, brushed his teeth and adorned his 'uniform'. He couldn't fully call his attire a uniform since it wasn't standard.

There was no mandatory dress code for Summoners - most simply chose the set of robes which announced what division they were in. Maddox had never been keen on the robes and had his own dress code instead.

Standing in front of the full body mirror he gently brushed his hair back, finishing his look. He wore dark black jeans with a gold trim, a matching belt showing his Gold division standing. He had a pair of sneakers on, black socks going just above his ankles. He buttoned up the top of his white dress shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows. His blond hair was brushed back, a small amount of product keeping it lifted slightly in the front. Dark glasses framed his blue eyes, the golden starbursts of his iris giving them an almost sea-green look.

Overall he had succeeded in his goal. He wanted to look cleaned up, professional even. What he didn't want however was to appear stuck up. He knew he was on business that day but the therapist in him knew there would be no helping his patient if he put distance between them from the start.

Satisfied with his appearance Maddox made his way out of the apartment and started off towards Heimerdinger's' lab - there was one last thing he needed.

It didn't take long for him to reach the laboratory. It was housed in a large warehouse, a single banner differentiating it from the identical storage areas surrounding the lab.  
 **Laboratory  
** The only word on the banner told most all they needed. Few people visited the lab and even fewer were actually welcomed there. Maddox had helped The Revered Inventor catch an assistant of his who was stealing plans for Viktor, the Machine Herald. It had been a bloody affair but in the end Maddox had prevented any of Heimerdinger's Hextech technologies from being used against their original Inventor.

Pushing open one of the two main doors Maddox was instantly assaulted by security drones. He had barely stepped inside before he was covered in a cleansing spray meant to get rid of any pathogens that might have clung to his clothes. Once that was over he was told a number of times just to stay in the entrance room - no larger than twenty square feet - until the Inventor himself could "grace you fleshling with his presence."  
Of course, Heimerdinger had cameras set up in the entrance room and, seeing that it was Maddox waiting, he quickly made his way over. A second set of doors leading further into the complex opened up and the yordle cried out to Maddox.  
"Awh! Maddox My Vriend! How are you?" A thick accent made caused Maddox to pause for a second, clearing in his mind what the Inventor had said.  
"I am doing well, and yourself Heimerdinger?" Maddox sat down cross legged so that he and the Inventor were at eye level of each other.  
"I am doing very well! Now, what can I help you with?" The yordle knew that if Maddox was making an unexpected visit he must be in dire straights.  
"Well - about that - I have a new assignment involving a certain… Fox." Maddox left the sentence there, the meaning not lost on Heimerdinger.  
"Ahh, so you vant help with dealing with the young lady?" Heimerdinger in his ever respectful mannerism was the only person who referred to Ahri as such that Maddox knew of.  
"Yeah, I was hoping you had something that could track my Essence levels - so I could tell if she was stealing from me. It's a hunch I have." At this Heimerdinger nodded slightly, then turning back into the laboratory. As he walked he motioned for Maddox to follow.

Working their way down the stainless steel hallways Maddox was amazed, as he always was, by the advancedness of the lab. The yordle did work in the City of Progress but the building here was decades ahead of anything Caitlyn could hope for.  
There were a number of turrets covering walls and hidden in the ceiling, though those were something Maddox had expected. What was foreign to him were the massive panels that showed battles going on all over the world - not just those happening in Summoner's Rift but of the battles between Noxus and Demacia as well.  
On one such screen Maddox could make out what looked like Kog'Maw mowing down a line of Demacian soldiers, promptly moving to eat the bodies. At that Maddox stopped watching the screens. It was not long before the duo reached the end of the hallway, a last set of doors propped open to reveal what Heimerdinger called his "Display Room". Inside were all of the gadgets and upgrades the Inventor had created since moving to the facility.

"Hmm, Essence yes? I have something though it zis still in prototype." Moving to a spot not far from the door he took a watch-looking device from a pedestal. He turned, holding it up to Maddox.  
"Anything I should watch out for?" Maddox took the device, replacing his own watch with the contraption. Once it was bound to him he felt a small prick and the warmth of a single drop of blood moving down his hand.  
"Nothing too bad, it needed blood to work sorry, I should have warned you." The Inventor looked truly apologetic, though it didn't bother Maddox. He'd annoyed enough champions to sustain much worse injury than that.  
"Not a problem, if that is all then I should likely get going. I'm supposed to meet the patient in not long." The inventor merely nodded, turning back and moving further into the room. Taking his leave Maddox made his way back down the hallway, eyes purposely averted from the screens surrounding him. Once he was out he took a deep breath, glancing down at his 'watch'.  
 **100**

Maddox wasn't entirely sure what the numbers meant but made a guess that it was a percentage. "Starting off at full then, it should be easy to tell if she's stealing Essence then."  
Smiling to himself he set off down the street, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the now-dried blood from his hand.


End file.
